


One Soul Forward, Two Souls Back

by CopperCable



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: (And Revival), And there's more to come~, Angst, Character Death, I wasn't kidding when I said it only gets darker from here!, More characters to come, Non-Binary Frisk, On Hiatus, Soulless!Asriel AU, Violence, snowball fight!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-21
Updated: 2019-02-09
Packaged: 2019-04-05 10:26:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14042217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CopperCable/pseuds/CopperCable
Summary: Frisk has lost count of how many times they have RESET the UNDERGROUND. Every time they come back, everything ends up exactly as it was, and they can never save everyone. As they meet Asriel Dreemurr once more, they hatch a new plan to bring him back to live with his family.But something goes horribly wrong, and now Frisk has unleashed a new threat to the UNDERGROUND. Who will help them and who will stop them when the Monster Prince returns out of nowhere, still spreading the seeds of chaos that he did as a flower? And what lengths will Frisk go to to truly bring him back?





	1. Prologue: Back to the Start

Asriel hung in the air, as if held up by invisible arms. He began to sink back toward the ground, or what passed as ground in this endless scape of darkness. Frisk watched him descend, pause for a moment, then stand tall and turn towards them. There was a long pause where neither of them knew what to say.

“Frisk…” Asriel began, trying desperately to hold back more tears. “I have to go now. Without the power of everyone’s souls…” Asriel turned away and clenched his fists; Frisk’s first thought was that he had been hit across the face by something, like a terrible memory. “I can’t keep maintaining this form. In a little while…” He sniffled and looked back up at his friend.

“I’ll turn back into a flower. I’ll stop being ‘myself’.” Asriel emphasised the last word, holding his paw up to his chest. “I’ll stop being able to feel love again.” He paused again, and Frisk could see the corners of his lips quavering again. “So Frisk… it’s best if you just forget about me, okay? Just go be with people who love you.” He forced a smile as he said the last words, almost oblivious to the tear streaking down his cheek.

In that moment, Frisk felt like they had no choice at all. It was obvious what they had to do.

They walked up to Asriel, the once-upon-a-time prince of the UNDERGROUND, and wrapped their arms around him. He flinched at the sudden contact, before embracing Frisk in kind and laying his head on their shoulder. Within moments, he let go of the tears and began to cry, wailing into Frisk’s shoulders.

The two friends stood in place for some time, but it felt like no time at all. Asriel’s wailing subsided, though he was still shivering in Frisk’s arms. He tightened his hug around their waist and wiped the corners of his eyes on Frisk’s tear-soaked shoulder. “Ha… ha…” It took him a few moments to find the words.

“I don’t want to let go…” That was the last thing that Frisk needed. They held him tighter and focused their mind. Focused on the golden star they had seen so many times in the UNDERGROUND, the one that would allow them to SAVE them both. If they just focused hard enough…

Suddenly, a flash of light appeared in front of them, and the star was there, twinkling as it always was. They raised one of their arms from Asriel’s shoulder and reached out toward the star. “Wait…” Asriel muttered. “Frisk, what are you doing?” Frisk didn’t respond, but kept reaching out toward the star. If they could just reach it… if they could just touch it…

“Frisk? FRISK!?” Asriel was growing frenzied as he suddenly realised what was behind him. He struggled to break free of Frisk’s grasp, but to no avail; their arm around his shoulder was tight as a vice.

Their fingers were so close now! As they almost brushed the star, the noise started to disappear from the void around them, and blackness gave way to a blinding white light. They could hear Asriel’s pleading getting quieter, as if coming from far away. “NO, PLEASE!” the monster screamed. FRISK, STO-”

They touched the star.

Frisk looked around, now standing alone in the inky black void once more. But this time, something felt different. They had felt something moments before, like a warmth flowing through them. Now as they stood in the darkness, they felt cold, as if a chill seeped through their skin and had frozen their insides. It was a familiar scene for them, sadly. But had it worked?

They turned around and saw three things. Two of them they recognised: one large orange button that read [CONTINUE], and a twin orange button that read [RESET]. They had lost count of the number of times they had to make this choice. They did not hit [CONTINUE] every time; sometimes they had made mistakes, gotten monsters hurt, or lost the will to continue. It was hard to keep track of how many times they had hit the [RESET] button now…

The third thing was Asriel, standing behind the buttons with his back turned to Frisk. He looked like he did when they first saw him, when he had absorbed everyone’s souls. It had worked! “…why did you do that, Frisk?” Asriel’s voice sent a chill down Frisk’s spine, a difficult thing to do when they already felt like their bones were made of ice. They didn’t respond, frozen in place.

“Didn’t you hear me?” he continued. “I said I would stop being “myself”.” He shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. Frisk began to feel uneasy, and slowly managed to reach their hand towards the [RESET] button. They were inches away when Asriel let out a chuckle, though his voice was different now. It sounded like two voices talking over one another: Asriel’s, and…

“You selfish brat…” he said. In an instant, he had turned around to face Frisk, and their heart sunk to the pit of their stomach. Asriel’s eyes were black as the void around them, except for the blood red irises and bright green pupils. He looked as if he was crying, but it was black sludge crawling down his face instead of tears. His mouth appeared to be melting, leaking the same black mess at the corners of his lips and between his glistening white fangs. Asriel jumped towards Frisk, screaming “YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU’VE DONE-”

Frisk slammed their hand down on the button.

The human woke up slowly, eyes adjusting to the room around them. A cold, dark cave chamber greeted them, lit by the open hole in the mountain far above them. They laid there for a moment, contemplating who they were and why they were laying in a cave…

A thought popped into their head; the floor beneath them was far softer than they would expect a cave floor to be. They grabbed at it feebly with their hands. Their fingers were met by golden flowers, growing all around them in a patch under the sunlight. The flowers seemed so familiar…

Frisk shot up from the ground. They remembered everything: they were in the UNDERGROUND, a cave system full of monsters that they had traversed so many times before. They stood up slowly, quietly apologising to the flowers and thanking them for breaking their fall.

Frisk set off for the RUINS. There was something different this time that they needed to do. Someone special that they needed to save. They approached the first door, knowing who would await them on the other side. They stepped over the precipice…

… and were greeted by a familiar face, but not one they were expecting.

“Howdy!” The young prince beamed at Frisk as they entered the room. “I’m Asriel! Your best friend!” Frisk looked at him, confused and slightly dismayed. Did he not remember them? Could he not remember the void they were just in? Did they imagine his eyes being black and his face melting? His eyes almost looked normal now, only instead of the black that they had been in his true form, now they looked like a dull, hollow grey, as if… he was still soulless.

As they stared at him incredulously, Asriel looked the human over. “Hmmm… you’re new to the UNDERGROUND, aren’tcha?” he asked gleefully. “Golly, you must be so confused! Someone ought to teach you how things work around here!” He puffed his chest out and put both paws on his hips. “I guess little old me will have to do,” he remarked with a wink, poking his tongue out to make an incredibly cute and dubiously innocent face.

Frisk was frightened as they began to realise what had happened. Asriel had told them that he wouldn’t be himself, and he was right all along. They had taken him back to the beginning with them, but he was not meant to be here, so he replaced the creature that he should have been: Flowey. Now that he was back in his own body, with all new kinds of magic, Frisk had no idea what he was capable of. They had no idea what they had done, and now it was coming to get them.

“Ready?” Asriel cheered. “Here we go!”


	2. Which Way is Forward?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is wrong. Frisk is horrified to find Asriel where Flowey should be, and now nothing is as it should be. Has anything- or anyone- else changed? And more importantly, will Asriel be the same as Flowey, or something entirely new?

The familiar cloying feeling of Frisk’s SOUL being detached from their body took hold of them. The landscape around them shifted into a black void once more, though different from the void they experienced before. Here, their body- their SOUL- felt very warm, as if a fire had been lit inside of it. Frisk was never able to fully comprehend what happened to them when it came to combat in the UNDERGROUND, and they never got used to it.

As they became familiar with the battle ground once more, they became aware of how quickly their SOUL was beating. They could feel their own fear and anxiety, mixed with confusion and apprehension. This was not how things were meant to be, and the very thought that they had RESET in vain… no, not in vain, _worse_ than that! It was almost too much to bear.

They needed to escape. They needed to break out of this void and get away from what they had brought into this world. They moved around frantically, knowing that there was no way to get out until the battle was done, but still they looked for an exit.

“Hey, are you even listening?”

Asriel’s voice cut through Frisk’s panicking thoughts and brought them back to the present. “Geez, you look like you’re going crazy!” Asriel chuckled, except he almost sounded nervous as well. Frisk stopped resisting the battle to come and watched Asriel as he straightened himself up. “Here, let me get you something to calm down,” he soothed. He brought his hands in front of his chest, breathing in deeply and breathing out slowly. As he extended his arms out to his sides, 5 white rotating bullets appeared in an arc above him.

“These are…” he paused, looked away for a moment, then finished with “friendliness pellets! In the UNDERGROUND, we share friendliness pellets with each other to make everyone feel better!” He lowered his arms back to his sides, and the bullets started moving towards Frisk. “Move around! Get as many as you can,” he commanded. Frisk effortlessly side-stepped the bullets.

Asriel’s expression dropped. The transition from excited to disappointed sent a chill through Frisk’s SOUL. “Okay,” Asriel muttered with a sigh. “Well, if you don’t want my help, then that must mean that you know what’s going on here, right?” Without waiting for a response, a ring of Asriel’s bullets appeared around Frisk, and slowly began to close in on them. “In that case,” he continued, “You probably know that we’re about to have some company, don’t you?”

Frisk was paralysed at his words. Company? That could only mean one thing: he knew exactly what was going to happen next. Every time that Frisk woke up in the RUINS, they had met Flowey and been saved by Toriel, the caretaker of the RUINS and Asriel’s mother. But Flowey never knew when Toriel arrived, so how could Asriel?

Without any more explanation, a mass earth shifted rapidly behind Asriel, cloaking him in thick, thorny vines and golden flowers. Everything behind him was completely obscured by the wall of plants, but the ring of bullets continued to close in on Frisk. Any moment now, a fireball would appear and blast Flowey away, but that was when he didn’t know it was there.

Frisk was not afraid of the bullets, because they had never hit them before. But when they looked over at Asriel again, terror flooded them. His eyes were changed again, back into red and green and oozing black. His jaw looked as if it was split into a hungry smile, as if he was waiting for his prey to die before feasting on it. Frisk didn’t notice the bullets drawing closer and closer…

As if on cue, a fireball lashed the back of Asriel’s wall of plants, and it burst into angry flames. The bullets disappeared in an instant, and the void around them began to shimmer and dissipate, returning them to the RUINS. The flames licked the ceiling, growing more and more intense with every moment, but Asriel made no move to leave. He just kept watching Frisk, breathing heavily and oozing the viscous sludge from his face.

“Don’t worry,” he growled, his voice a mixture of his own voice and Flowey’s. “There will be plenty of time for us to play later.” The earth in front of him split apart, and more vines shot from the cracks. They met up with the first vines, encasing Asriel in a green and gold dome that burned like an inferno. The only part of him that was left visible was his eyes, still boring into Frisk.

“I’ll see you around, Frisk.” And with that, the dome closed. The vines writhed and pulled back into the ground, leaving a cloud of dirt and dust to cover its retreat. The fire disappeared, leaving Frisk to adjust to the relative darkness that would usually fill the room. As the dust began to settle, they looked at where Asriel had been; the earth sat disturbed in his wake, as if somebody had been kicking at the dirt. Like a child at play.

Through the lingering wall of dust emerged a tall monster, covering their mouth with the sleeve on their robe. Toriel coughed politely and stared down at the ground.

“What…” Her words seemed to disappear for a moment. “What _was_ that terrible creature, torturing such a poor, innocent youth?” Toriel did not take her gaze away from the patch of disturbed dirt until Frisk took a step towards her. “Ah!” She was startled, as if she had forgotten that Frisk was even in the room. She cleared her throat and began to speak again. “Do not be afra-”

Frisk had already run towards her and began to hug her legs tightly, hiding their face in her robe. Toriel was taken aback, not sure of how to react. Frisk couldn’t bear to look at the matronly monster right now, not after they had just brought their son back from the dead and turned him into a cruel, soulless… well, monster was not the right word to describe him now.

Toriel finally came to her senses and patted Frisk gently on the back of their head with her fingertips. “I think it may be best if we leave here, my child. Shall we go?” Frisk nodded without taking their head away from the robes. Toriel gave a weary smile and kneeled down, soiling her clean robes in the dirt. She huddled down until she was at eyelevel with Flrisk. “My name is Toriel,” she whispered. “What is your name?”

Frisk shook their head, still looking at the ground. Toriel’s smile wavered, but only for a moment. “Alright then,” she cooed, “let us leave here now. I will keep you safe.” Frisk nodded and took the monster’s hand. Toriel stood up again, brushed the front of her robes, and guided Frisk to the next room.

A cacophony of thoughts filled Frisk’s head. Had Toriel seen Asriel, or had he thrown up the wall before she could see him? How would she react if they came clean now? Would Toriel thank them for trying, or curse them for failing? Why did Asriel still have Flowey’s magic now that he was in his own body? No, that wasn’t just Flowey’s magic, it was far stronger, wasn’t it? Where had Asriel gone, anyway?

And how did he remember Frisk’s name?

There was too much to think about right now. Toriel was about to guide Frisk through the catacombs once more, and would try to teach them about puzzles and conflicts. They wouldn’t be able to progress with so much on their mind, so they chose to focus on the task at hand. Asriel would be back, they had no doubt about that. When he arrived, they would have many questions.

They were scared to know the answers.

* * *

 

Anxiety gnawed away at Frisk’s sanity as they progressed through the RUINS, scared to turn at every corner but knowing that they had to anyway. At first, they felt that they would be safe from Asriel for a while, since Flowey had never shown up anywhere until they were about to enter Snowdin. But then they would quickly remember his terrifying face, framed by buttercups and fire.

_“I’ll see you around, Frisk.”_ The terrifying voice- or voices- were still echoing in their head, as vivid as it had been when they heard him. Every time that they saw his face, his bright green and red and black eyes and the wicked smile, they would freeze up, but only for a moment. They had to keep going. They had to find out what he knew.

When they finally reached Home, Frisk could breathe easy again. Asriel did not want Toriel to know that he was around, so he would not appear here. They enjoyed the calm of Home with a lighter heart, admiring the interesting titbits they had picked up on their many times in the building: the way that Toriel would hum while she was in the kitchen, the irony of a dead tree outside when her ex-husband was an excellent gardener, even the drawings stashed away at the back of the wardrobe in the bedroom they occupied.

Asriel had slept in this building. They were convinced that he had slept in the bed they were laying in, and it did not help them to relax. They tossed and turned in the bed, head still buzzing with questions and memories and fears. Why had they tried to do this in the first place? He had told them that there was no way to get him back, and they should have believed him.

No, that wasn’t right, either. They couldn’t just leave him here in the UNDERGROUND, alone and without a soul. It wasn’t right, and they would never be able to live with themselves if they did not try to bring him back.

After too long spent thinking about what to do next, Frisk finally fell asleep. At this point, it was almost a routine to wake up, stash away the slice of pie on the ground, convince Toriel to let them leave and then face her at the door leading out of the RUINS. They thought about the one time that they had died here, remembered the look of horror on Toriel’s face before they faded out of consciousness, and woke up again in the void. How long ago had that been?

They pushed the thought aside as they hugged Toriel one last time and proceeded through the giant double doors. In the next room, Flowey would normally be waiting for Frisk and remind them of the way that he saw the world. “It’s kill or be killed.” They had proven time and again that he was wrong… and more than once, they had proven that he was right.

But as they approached the room once more, no flower awaited them. No figure stood in the spotlight. Frisk stepped onto the flowers cautiously, when-

“Think fast!”

A fireball whooshed by Frisk’s head as they instinctively jumped forward. They turned towards the source of the projectile and found him leaning against a pitch-black wall. “I knew that one wouldn’t hit you,” Asriel said with a bored smile. For a brief moment, his expression almost reminded Frisk of a particularly lazy- and at times, lethal- friend. “I didn’t expect you to jump forward, though,” Asriel continued. “You always have been an odd one, haven’t you, Frisk?”

Frisk’s expression became much more serious as their name was mentioned. Asriel chuckled, still looking dissatisfied. “You’re probably wondering how I know that name, right?” He didn’t wait for a response, and instead raised his paws as if to stop Frisk. “Now now, don’t answer me so quickly. I know how you are, you little chatterbox.” He smiled at his own joke, while Frisk remained as stoic as ever.

“I’ll tell you what, Frisk-fry,” Asriel offered as he got up from the wall and began to pace around Frisk. “I have some questions too. So how about we ask each other some questions, one at a time?” He stopped in front of Frisk and held out his paw. “Deal?”

Frisk looked him over again. He was exactly like the young monster that they had saved at the end of the last session, except for his eyes. They were greyed out right now, and half-lidded. His attitude, his posture, everything about him was wrong except for his physical appearance, and that was the hardest part for Frisk to accept. They looked deep into his eyes, trying to gleam even a piece of the boy he had been.

Asriel cocked his head to one side. “Is there something on my face?” As if on cue, a drop of black sludge began to run down his cheek, staining his fur black as it fell. He made no move to wipe it away, almost as if he didn’t know it was there. Frisk gulped, trying not to let it unnerve them. But when Asriel cracked open into a wide smile and giggled in their face, they flinched and pulled their hands away.

“Oh Frisk, you are priceless!” He rubbed the black tear into his fur, staining his paw and face with the sludge before holding the hand back out for Frisk to take. They looked at him, clearly nervous. His smile dropped once again, and now he looked annoyed. “Oh, come on, I was only playing. Look, I’m not going to hurt you. Promise.” Frisk held a hand up, ready to shake Asriel’s but they waited for another moment.

He sighed loudly. “Fine, I won’t hurt _anybody._ Do we have a deal?” He forced his hand towards Frisk, and they took it. The black sludge immediately wiped off on to their hand. Even a smudge of it felt thick and deathly cold. They wiped their hand on their pant leg while Asriel began pacing again.

“So,” he started, “I’ll go first. I can remember what happened in our last… let’s call them sessions. I was a flower, then I was a real boy, then I was an ultimate God of Hyperdeath!” He stopped moving and punched the air, imitating a super hero action pose. Then he continued pacing and carried on, “but then you stopped me. Again. How predictable.” He rolled his eyes as he passed in front of Frisk again. “But I only remember up to the point where you forgave me, and then we were hugging.”

He stopped, turned on his feet and faced Frisk. “Question one: why did I wake up in this body, and not as a flower?”

Frisk thought for a moment, and decided that they should tell the truth if they wanted to hear the truth as well. They walked towards him, held his hand, and then summoned the star just out of their reach. The star twinkled in place, though the light it produced did not change how the room looked at all.

Asriel pondered the action. “So, you RESET the session while we were holding each other. And I had to pick up where I usually would, because I couldn’t be in two places at once.” He looked at Frisk, and suddenly his expression was cheerful, as if he was suddenly having fun and nothing was wrong. “That was really clever of you!” He smiled at them for a bit, then let out a contented sigh. “That’s a lie, by the way. I told you that I couldn’t come back. Nice try though.” He let go of Frisk’s hand, and went back to pacing.

“Man, I really missed having legs. I never want to stop moving now, it feels so _good_ to have them back!” He looked up at Frisk with a grin, but when it was not returned, he dropped back into a scowl. “Alright, your first question then. How did I remember your name, is that it?” Frisk nodded. “Well I think you just answered that question yourself. You brought me here, and we were in contact the whole time. I remembered what you remembered. Sound fair?” Frisk thought for a moment, then nodded again.

“Good, because that was a load of dung” he said, looking away and pacing again. “Question 2, Frisky-poo!” He stopped pacing again, and this time he went quiet. “Do you know about Chara?”

The name sent a chill down Frisk’s spine. Chara, the demon that comes when people call its name. Frisk not only knew about Chara, they had met them. More than once. Each encounter was a terrifying experience, and yet Frisk had hoped to one day find a way to save them too, even if they did not want to be saved.

Frisk gulped and nodded. Asriel did not respond, but went back to pacing. “What would your second question be,” he asked Frisk. “Let me guess…” He stood in front of them again and rested his chin in his paw, making a mock appearance of thinking hard. “Hmm… why am I so handsome, maybe?” Frisk shook their head quickly. “Well boo on you, too!” Asriel yelled, poking his tongue out at Frisk. “How about… what am I going to do next?”

Frisk nodded at that. If he was going to be a threat, they needed to be ready. Asriel turned away from them before responding. “Well, you would think the answer was pretty simple. I’m going to do what I do every time I start a new session…” He went quiet, then suddenly jumped around and threw his arms up in the air, striking a silly pose. “Have fun, of course!”

Frisk looked horrified at him. He saw the expression and quickly grimaced. “I said I wasn’t going to hurt anyone! Geez, can’t a monster have some innocent, harmless fun with his people? It’s like you don’t even trust me…” He staunched off again, back to pacing once more.

“Question 3,” he shouted from behind them. His steps were growing longer, quicker, angrier. “You know Chara, and I think you know more than just that. Do you know how to find Chara?”

Why was he so obsessed with Chara? Frisk wanted to know, but there was another question that they needed to ask. Still, they were not sure if they should tell Asriel the truth. If he found out how to get to Chara, then nothing may be safe again.

But before Frisk could respond, Asriel interrupted them. “Whatever. I don’t need you to say anything. You hesitated, and that means yes.” He stopped walking once more right in Frisk’s face. “You really are an idiot, you know?” His eyes were fine, but his mouth was spread wide in a cruel grin again. But as he stepped back, his jaw looked completely fine. Frisk had no idea how he could do that, but it unnerved them.

“Time for your last question,” he stated. “Better make it a good one!” Frisk already knew what they wanted to ask. With both hands open, they lifted their arms up from their knees straight up into the air. Then, they made a motion as if they were throwing a ball. Asriel watched and considered what Frisk was saying. “You want to know about my magic?” Frisk lit up and nodded, almost forgetting for a moment how dangerous the monster was.

He guffawed and said “that’s a good question! It looks like I have all kinds of cool magic now.” He squatted down on his feet and reached to the ground. A buttercup pushed through the earth beneath him and grew to its full size, just as he plucked it from the ground. “When I was Flowey, I had all kinds of cool tricks I could do with my vines, and with some flowers. I just had the most fun with my vines, so I am best with those.” He stood up again, admiring the flower. “But now…”

Suddenly, the flower burst into flame, and a ball of fire hovered in the palm of Asriel’s hand. “Now, I have my old fire magic back. I was still learning the basics when I was a kid, but now I have had a lot of time to learn.” The flames grew brighter in his hand, until he quashed it in his fist. “I can’t wait to see what I can do now… but that’s not all, either…”

Asriel trailed off, then looked back at Frisk with a smile. “Thanks for your help, Frisky! I’ll see you around!” And with that, Frisk watched in horror as Asriel lifted his hand to his side, summoned his own star, and grabbed it.

* * *

 In the next room, Flowey would normally be waiting for Frisk and remind them of the way that he saw the world. “It’s kill or be killed.” They had proven time and again that he was wrong… and more than once, they had proven that he was right.

But as they approached the room once more, no flower awaited them. No figure stood in the spotlight. Frisk stepped on to the flowers cautiously, when-

The hairs on the back of their neck began to prickle. They swung around, expecting to find somebody watching them, but there was nobody in sight. Still unnerved, and dealing with a weird case of déjà vu, Frisk walked into the open archway at the back of the room.


	3. Can't We Go Back?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asriel has shown a hint of his new strength, and it's enough to scare Frisk. Worse still, he knows about the last RESET. As Frisk passes through the threshold and into the Underground proper, they are filled with dread...

The first thing that Frisk felt was the sudden chill of Snowdin. They never even noticed the RUINS door shutting behind them, but when they heard the loud slam of the stone they knew for certain that it would not budge, no matter how hard they tried to open it. There would be no more time to spend with Toriel, not until the end of the session. And even then…

Frisk shook the thought from their mind. Asriel might be new, but things could still end the same way if they proved to be a pacifist. It was the only hope they had for saving him now. Maybe seeing the people that he once loved and called family would reignite his soul. Maybe they could help him love again.

They made their way towards Snowdin, anticipating the arrival of the two funny skeleton monsters that they held so dearly. With Sans and Papyrus around, things would surely be safer. Flowey had never made a move against them, as far as Frisk was aware. Though, in hindsight, he had definitely tried to make friends with Papyrus… it worried Sans, and it worried Frisk too.

A snap filled the air, causing Frisk to jump. It was the tree branch behind them, they knew it. It must have been Sans, it was always Sans. But if Frisk turned around, he would be gone. He was watching them again, he had to be. They continued forward, keeping their eyes focused ahead on the “fence” that Papyrus had built to keep humans out.

One more step… one more… and then they were there. They paused in front of the fence, and waited. Behind them, snow was being crunched under light feet, getting closer and closer. Frisk waited until the figure was standing right behind them.

“Don’t you know how to greet your best friend?”

Frisk spun around, only to be greeted by a snowball in the face and a cackle of laughter. “Oh my gosh, you really are as dumb as a pile of bricks, aren’t you?” cowed Asriel.  He fell onto his back in the snow, holding his sides and laughing endlessly. Frisk wiped away the snow from their face, now more annoyed than scared. They scowled down at Asriel, and it was moments before Asriel looked up and returned the scowl.

“Oh it was just a joke, Frisk! Chill out.” He swiped at the snow, throwing a gentle cloud of it at Frisk again. They recoiled and fell on their behind, the soft snow keeping them from harm. Asriel fell back in a fit of laughter again, but Frisk was not amused.

They collected a ball of snow in their hand, shaped it into a ball, and threw it at Asriel. He sat up just in time for it to hit him squarely in the muzzle. Snow splattered on his nose and over his mouth, and a moment later he let out a sneeze. Frisk could not help but smile at how cute he looked as he sniffled and rubbed his nose.

“That’s not funny,” he exclaimed angrily. Frisk smiled at him, and poked their tongue out for good measure. A smirk broke across his face as well, and suddenly the two of them were scurrying to their feet, grabbing as much snow as they could and throwing it at one another.

It was a scene that neither of them could have predicted; Frisk was terrified of the new Asriel, and Asriel was curious about his new lease on life, but everything was put aside for a snowball fight. They dodged between the dead trees, yelped when they were hit, and laughed together the whole time. It was almost an hour before they finally yielded, and called the snowball fight a draw, as was the tradition of all snowball fights.

They lied next to one another in the snow, making snow angels and sweating despite the cold temperature. Neither of the children could remember the last time that they had a snowball fight like that, and neither of them wanted to ruin this fun memory now.

But as with all good things, they had to end their time together. Asriel was the first to his feet, and he offered a paw to Frisk. They hesitated, then took it and allowed themselves to be pulled up. As they stood on their feet once more, they watched as Asriel brushed the snow off of his clothes.

In this moment, he looked completely innocent. He was panting slightly, and his cheeks were rosy red beneath his fur. They watched his ears hang by the sides of his head and almost brush his shoulders as he stood up, and they watched his eyes as he checked his front and his back for any more snow.

How could this child, so innocent and so fun, be so cruel as well? What did Frisk have to do to make every day like this moment?

Asriel noticed Frisk eyeing him over. He looked at their doleful expression, and he could almost guess what they were thinking. “You’re wondering why we did that, huh?” Frisk nodded sombrely. “Because it was fun, Frisk. Didn’t you have fun?” Frisk paused, and then nodded again, a bit more vigorously this time. Asriel’s mouth opened in a smile as he caught his breath. But Frisk still looked depressed, maybe even more so now.

“Look, Frisk,” Asriel began. “I thought I explained this to you at the end of the last session? I don’t have a soul, and I can’t feel love for anybody. But that doesn’t mean that I can’t have fun! Loving others and having fun are two completely different things.” Frisk shook their head, not wanting to believe his harsh words.

“It’s true, Frisk. You know that it’s true. Deep down, you know that I have no soul, and this… this time that we had together right now was fun. And for me, maybe it was as fun as when I killed someone.” Frisk stepped back at those words; the way that Asriel said them with such abandon made it so much harder to believe him, especially when he wore such a sad look.

“In this life,” he said, “it’s kill or be killed. And anything goes, so long as you have fun. Nothing really matters in the end, not when you can make it all un-happen.” He looked away from Frisk, rubbing his arm and shying away from them. “The sooner you learn that…” He trailed off for a moment, and then turned back to Frisk. “The sooner we can have more fun!” He was smiling now, positively beaming… but it looked so phoney to Frisk, like he was trying too hard to look happy.

They just watched him, unable to speak or move. Nothing that he said would make sense in their mind. This moment was too pure to have been “as fun as when he killed someone.” They wouldn’t believe it. They would prove that he was wrong, somehow, even if it took hundreds of RESETs.

“Hey Frisk?” Asriel tilted his head towards the human with a sad smile. “I’ll see you around.” He walked off into the trees, his figure quickly becoming a silhouette, and his silhouette quickly fading from view. Frisk could only watch as he disappeared with their own emotions roiling inside them. There were too many thoughts and feelings trying to take their attention, but one in particular stood out in their mind…

Where was Sans?

Frisk turned towards the fence and bolted over the small bridge. Why hadn’t Sans interrupted them and Asriel when they were throwing snowballs at one another? He was always here; he never failed to find them. Was he alright? Had something happened to keep him away?

Frisk arrived at Sans’ guard post, just in time to see the skeleton sleeping peacefully. As they ran up to him, their feet crunching loudly in the snow, Sans began to twitch gently. Slowly, his eyes- or the sockets in his head that passed for eyes- cracked open, and he shifted in place. He looked at Frisk, and Frisk looked at him expectantly.

“Well,” he muttered with his perpetual smile. “That’s not something you see every day.” He let out a loud yawn, pushed himself away from the counter of his post, and stretched on his stool. As he reached his arms out, his bones made unnatural cricking and cracking sounds, though they were perfectly normal to Frisk: with a trained eye, they could see the small bubbles of magic that collected in each of the skeleton’s joints pop, and small embers of cyan magic escape into the air and disappear almost instantly.

Sans made his way over to Frisk in a leisurely fashion and offered his hand to shake. Instead of taking the hand, Frisk smiled and jumped towards him, catching him around the neck and hugging him tightly with the tips of their toes barely touching the snow. Sans, surprised as he was, managed to stay on his feet.

“I guess you introduce yourself a bit differently to me,” he remarked, though he did not return the warm greeting. Frisk let go of him and dropped back to their feet. They stepped away as Sans chuckled. “I’m Sans,” he said, “Sans the skeleton. I’m actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now.” He paused and eyed the human. “Looks like a human was watching me instead.” His perpetual smile once intimidated Frisk, but they knew Sans far better now than they did during their first meeting.

“But… y’know…” he trailed off as a yawn whistled through his teeth. “I don’t really care about capturing anybody.” Frisk knew this, which is why they were so carefree about hugging him. The only thing that would change Sans’ tune was if any harm came to…

“Now my brother, Papyrus…” Sans continued, “he’s a human-hunting fanatic.” Frisk obviously knew this too, and nodded their head along as Sans spoke. The skeleton looked surprised at them, unable to supress the nervousness he was feeling. He looked up past Frisk, just in time to glimpse the lanky figure of his brother walking towards them.

“Sans, what- “But he never finished his question; Frisk was already sprinting towards their friend and wrapping their arms around his legs. Papyrus stood there for a moment, hands up in shock and looking down at the human. “Sans, what is it doing?”

“I think it’s hugging you, bro.” There was a waver in Sans’ voice; he was still alert at how affectionate this human was being. The skeletons stood there in silence until Frisk took a step back and bounced excitedly on the spot. They were relieved to find them both unharmed. They would be safe with them.

“Well then… greetings, human! I am the Great Papyrus!” He put his gloved hand on his chest-piece with a flourish, and small orange sparkles lit up the air around him. He must have trained for quite some time to do that trick so effortlessly, but it always impressed Frisk.

Papyrus pointed his hand at Frisk. “And I will be your captor today! Follow me, and pray that you endure my most complex and devious puzzles!” He turned around and went to hurry back along the path to his puzzles, but Frisk raced forward and held his hand before he could leave. Papyrus looked down at the human and stared for a moment, clearly thinking of how to proceed.

“Oh,” he piped up, “you are scared of getting lost! Fear not, human, the Great Papyrus would never stoop to such a low level as to make the path towards the puzzles, a puzzle in itself!” He beamed at his own ingenuity, but Frisk held tightly on to him. He looked puzzled again. “But, I suppose I can help you to the next puzzle anyway. Come with me, human!”

Frisk toddled through the snow, doing their best to keep up with Papyrus’ much longer strides. Sans watched them both, not moving a bone to follow. Frisk knew exactly what Sans was thinking: will this human harm his brother? Can he protect them, like he promised the lady behind the door he would? Would they bring salvation to the UNDERGROUND?

Frisk couldn’t answer that last question anymore. Not after the terror that they had unleashed.

Making their way through the puzzles set out for them was a cinch. They knew every solution by heart, but this was the first time that they had gone through the path with Papyrus and Sans in tow. Papyrus often commented on the difficulty he had coming up with the upcoming puzzle, but he would always be inspired and design a new masterpiece! Frisk listened, enraptured by his storytelling.

They passed by Doggo’s sentry station, and Papyrus informed the suspicious dog that he had a human with him, and was taking them through straight to Snowdin. Doggo was, of course, reluctant to let them move through, but after some stealthy pats from Frisk, he was more excited- and alarmed- than anything. Papyrus stood there after the encounter, let out a surprised “huh,” and moved on with Frisk.

Sans would always meet them up at the next puzzle. Frisk was never surprised, but Papyrus was always annoyed. “We have a guest with us now, o’ brother mine,” Papyrus stated. “You should stay with us while we travel.”

“I’m still with you, bro,” Sans replied, “I’m just a bit faster.”

“That is a lie, you are clearly using your magic to get you to the next place faster because you are a lazy bones!” Sans chuckled at the pun, appreciating his brother’s creativity, and shrugged in response. What else was there to say? Papyrus was totally right, and everyone knew it.

When Frisk simply smiled and didn’t seem shocked to know that Sans could teleport, that was when he decided to walk with them. Frisk could sense that his trust was starting to waver, if only because they were too confident. They made a note to be more surprised from now on.

They made their way from one puzzle to the next, solving them all together, making their way past the other members of the Royal Guard (after giving each of them just a bit more than the required amount of pats), and finally arriving at the bridge into Snowdin.

“Ooh, wait here, human!” Papyrus burst out excitedly. “I must prepare the next puzzle, so do not cross the bridge until I say so!” He turned to his brother. “Sans, you must follow me.”

Sans hesitated. “I dunno, bro. I’d hate for the human to get bone-ly.” His perpetual smile seemed to grow a bit bigger as he said the joke, but Papyrus was having none of it.

“NYEH! NOW YOU MUST COME WITH ME BECAUSE YOU ARE EMBARRASSING ME IN FRONT OF THE HUMAN WITH YOUR PUNS!” Papyrus turned and made his way along the bridge, not actually waiting for Sans, who instead turned to the human and paused.

“I’ll see you up ahead, kid,” he said, then turned back towards the trees and disappeared behind them. Frisk was left waiting for Papyrus’ last puzzle, which he would almost certainly not activate in the end, and staring at the trees from where they had come from… until something caught their eye.

The sound of a slither perked their ears. They strained to find the source of it, looking at all the trees in the thick forest. It seemed to echo around the trees, hiding the culprit from Frisk’s senses. They looked harder, trying to see if something stood out at all, until they heard a sudden rush to their right.

There, behind the nearest line of pine trees, was a flash of green too bright to be foliage. They heard a gasp, and then saw a thick green vine burst from the ground and cover the young monster watching them. In the next moment, there was nothing to indicate that Asriel had ever been there, watching Frisk. They searched the trees in a frenzy, panic starting to build, when suddenly they heard-

“HUMAN! YOU CAN CROSS THE BRIDGE NOW!” Papyrus’ voice only just reached Frisk’s ears, but it brought them back to attention. Fearing that Asriel may still be around, they sprinted across the bridge, not caring for the way it swayed over the chasm below with their aggressive foot falls. They ran and ran all the way to Papyrus and Sans.

“Ah, human! You have made it past all-” But he cut himself off when Frisk passed his final trap and threw their arms around his legs again, clutching him tightly and hiding their face. For the third time today, Papyrus was speechless. He simply looked down at the human as they tried to hold back tears.

“Human… are you alright?” Frisk shook their head, still hiding their face. They wanted to cry. They wanted to cry and cry until there were no more tears left. They wanted to RESET everything, but what if something messed up, and Flowey and Asriel disappeared forever? They knew they had to press on, but it was so hard now…

Sans kept his eye sockets trained on the human child, but Papyrus pulled himself away from them and kneeled instead, immune to the cold snow on his bare bones. “There, there, don’t worry,” he cooed softly. “I’m sure that you are scared to be in this new place, meeting new monsters. If it helps, I have grown very fond of you already!” He looked up at Sans and frowned for a moment.

“Yeah,” Sans muttered, “me too.” Papyrus nodded and looked back at Frisk.

“You are safe here, so long as I, the Great Papyrus, am here to protect you!” Frisk sniffled, still fighting to stop themselves from crying. “And if that’s not enough, then Asgore will look after you too! After all, Undyne says that Asgore says ‘The next human to arrive will be our salvation!’ and he also says ‘don’t give up! Stay determined!’”

Those words broke Frisk. How could they be the salvation of all monsters after unleashing Asriel like he was now? And what was he like now, anyway? A cruel villain, or a scared boy? How could Frisk stay determined when they didn’t even know what they were doing anymore? As the thoughts came one after another, so did the tears.

“Now now, human, no more tears! We will look after you.” He stood back up and offered his hand to Frisk. “Nothing will get you so long as you are with us.”

That was what scared Frisk. They were around, for now. But who knew when Asriel would return to his “fun”-loving self? They took Papyrus’ hand and walked into Snowdin, with Sans trailing behind them.

Frisk silently begged Asriel to not show up anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there readers! For those of you enjoying this story, you may be excited to hear that I am trying to work on an updating schedule for it! I'm trying to get a new chapter out in the beginning week of every month, which gives me time to write a new chapter, have it proofread and then ready to submit. So, look forward to the next chapter in the New Year, but be prepared for a dark twist! 2019 starts with a bang!


	4. Stepping Forward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First Asriel acts like Flowey always had, and then he turns into the lost child that he was. Frisk can't keep up with who he truly is now, or what could happen next. As they make their way into Waterfall, they don't know what to expect when he arrives again...

There was no fight with Papyrus. On the contrary, he was adamant about helping Frisk all the way to Asgore, but thankfully Sans stepped in before Frisk was marched out the door. They stayed in the brothers’ house for the night- not that you could tell when a night had passed in the Underground- and for a time, they managed to forget about bringing Asriel back.

The next morning, after a heaped plate of spaghetti (that tragically fell on the floor before a single bite could be eaten), Frisk made their way towards Waterfall. Anxiety tugged at the corner of their mind, reminding them that they had no idea of what to expect anymore. They would cross Undyne, which was always a stressful situation, but it would not go as it always had before. It couldn’t.

Papyrus and Sans had waved them off as they went through the fog at the edge of town, where the more tropical climate of Waterfall met the cold air of Snowdin. “I’ve tried to call ahead to my good friend, Captain Undyne,” Papyrus had told them before they had left, “but she did not answer her phone. I’ll try again and let her know to keep you safe.” Already this was different, and Frisk didn’t know whether to feel better about it, or worse.

Every step in the new territory was filled with tension. Frisk jumped at every noise that followed them, every shadow across the already dark floor. They passed Sans in his sentry post, and the Monster Kid that doted on Undyne, saved at the star checkpoint nearby and moved on quickly. Lunch with Sans did not appeal to them today, and they already knew what he would say.

And it would not have mattered anyway; there was no longer a yellow flower to whisper to Papyrus. A shiver crept up their spine as they imagined Asriel convincing Papyrus to be his friend and mistreat him with a new range of powers. It was difficult to push the thoughts aside, and every time that they managed, a new cruelty would replace it.

Before they knew it, Frisk was at the first patch of long seaweed that littered Waterfall, and a noise on the ledge above them brought their attention back to the present. They peered up through the seaweed and spotted Undyne’s back. This was nothing new to them, but for once, Papyrus had not been able to talk to her about them. She could be more wary than usual…

Suddenly there was a shift in the seaweed nearby, surprising Frisk and Undyne. She was leaning over the ledge in an instant, magical spear at the ready, waiting for Frisk or the other noisemaker to stir again. Frisk held their breath and tensed their body until they were as still as possible. And then they waited…

And they waited…

Another rustling of seaweed. Undyne raised her spear and prepared to launch it-

“CAPTAIN UNDYNE! ANSWER YOUR CELL PHONE!” A loud voice split the tension, loud enough to echo off every cavern wall and fill all of Waterfall. It sounded like it had come from a loudspeaker, or many of them all at once. Frisk looked up slowly at Undyne, wondering what had happened. Undyne, just as shocked as Frisk, ripped off her helmet and dropped it at her side, retrieved her phone from her armor and flipped it open.

“Aw, crap.” She quickly dialled a number into her phone and waited for the monster on the other end of the line to pick up. “…Alphys, what is going on?... I know, I’m there right now… oh right, of course you can see me… so is the human here or-…” There was a long pause. Frisk let their breath out slowly, trying not to bring attention to themself.

“WHAT!?” Undyne barked into her cell phone. “HOW CAN THAT BE!?... DO I HAVE TO!? CAN’T I JUST-” Undyne paused again, listening to Alphys’ long (false) explanation about why the seaweed Frisk was hiding in was endangered. “NGAHHH! FINE!” She slammed cell phone shut, jammed it back into her pocket and leaned back over the ledge.

“HUMAN! I KNOW YOU’RE HERE SOMEWHERE.” Frisk tensed again, doing their best to stay as still as a statue. “My… security specialist, Dr Alphys, warned me that there is someone dangerous nearby. Someone who should not be here.” Frisk didn’t even need to guess who Undyne was talking about. If that was true, then the one making the noise near them must have been…

“I’ll give you one chance now to step forward,” Undyne continued. “Normally I would hunt you down, but whatever else is nearby is far more dangerous, even more dangerous than you. SO GET OUT HERE, PUNK!”

Frisk didn’t have much time to weigh out the options; if they stayed, Undyne and Alphys might think that they and Asriel were working together. If they showed themself, maybe they could be enough to keep Asriel at bay… maybe. They looked up at Undyne, fidgeting over the ledge, and made their decision.

Frisk stood up. Undyne looked down at them, stared them in the eyes with a cold malice. Frisk was used to that look from Undyne, but they weren’t proud of why. The pushed the seaweed aside and stepped toward Undyne, and a tense silence fell over the cavern.

“Do you know what else is nearby?” Undyne was terse, and Frisk found themself flinching as her loud voice echoed around them. They nodded in response; better to be honest now since they had already given themself away. “Do you know how they got here?” Another nod. “Did you have anything to do with them?”

Frisk stared at Undyne, matching her cold glare with their stoic expression as best they could. They gulped, and nodded. “Are you working with them?” Frisk shook their head without hesitation, desperate for Undyne to believe that Frisk was as scared of Asriel as Alphys clearly was too, according to the urgent announcement and phone call.

But Undyne was not so quick to trust the human. She growled, and shouted “why should I believe you? If you had something to do with them coming back, then you must be working with them, right?” Frisk took a step back, waving their arms frantically in front of them and furiously shaking their head. To their horror, they watched Undyne lift her spear up once more, ready to strike.

“Why should I believe you, human!?” Frisk covered their head and waited for the spear to strike them down. This would not have been the first time that Undyne would end up killing them with her spears of justice, but Frisk was sure that they would not have to worry about them again after so many battles with her. They braced themself for the tingling, searing pain of her magic piercing their SOUL…

“WHAT THE-?” Frisk kept their head covered, barely hearing Undyne’s shouting. “WH-WHAT IS THIS!? HUMAAAN!” That was too loud for Frisk to ignore; they uncovered their head and looked back up to witness a terrifying scene.

Undyne was being suspended in the air by giant spiky vines, wrapped around her arms, legs and neck. Frisk looked around and found the culprit standing nearby in the seaweed, exactly where most of the rustling had come from. “That’s not the behaviour I would expect from the ‘Hero of Justice’, Undyne,” Asriel chided with a smirk. Frisk swung their head back up to Undyne, then back to Asriel, then back to Undyne.

But before they could do anything, before they could even make a motion towards Asriel, before they could even wrap their head around what was unfolding, they heard a sickening crack, followed by Undyne screaming out in pain. Another crack rang over her cries, then another. Suddenly there was something similar to a popping noise, and Frisk could see her arm no longer looked right.

Instinct took over, and they ran towards Asriel, ready to tackle him to the ground. That’s when they heard one last sound, louder than the rest. A ripping sound was drowned out only by Undyne’ shriek of pain, and then it was all cut short. Suddenly, the only sound in Waterfall was the running of water.

Frisk was frozen to the spot, struggling to breathe. They wanted to look up at the ledge, to see that Undyne was standing there, angry but alive. They wanted to scream, make some kind of noise, fight something, collapse and cry. But they were frozen to the spot, unable to bring their body to move.

Asriel looked over at Frisk. “Boy, that was a close one!” He was suddenly cheerful, as if he was playing a fun game with his friend. “She was about to skewer you with the spear,” he prattled on, acting out the scenes as he continued, “and she was all like ‘Why should I trust you, human?’ and I was all like ‘don’t you hurt my best friend!’ and then I…”

Frisk could barely hear him after that. All they could hear was their own blood rushing in their ears, and a single thought. _He protected me._ It was a sickening thought, twisted and wrong. He murdered Undyne, but he did it to protect Frisk. This wasn’t the way things were supposed to go at all. If only they could snap out of their shock, make themself move again, they could try to make things right…

“… and I know I promised that I wouldn’t hurt anybody,” Asriel insisted, “but you were in trouble, so… what?” He stopped his recount of the events that had just occurred when he saw Frisk’s head suddenly snap towards him, as if to stare him in the eyes. What promise was he talking about?

“Are you mad at me for hurting her even though I told you I wouldn’t hurt anybody in the Ruins?” Frisk stood up, trying to act confident, but their shoulders slumped as they tried to remember what Asriel was talking about. They had only met at the beginning of the Ruins, and he never showed up where Flowey used to, just before they entered Snowdin…

“Ohhhhhhhh.” Asriel clapped his paws. “You don’t remember that, do you?” His voice suddenly had a sinister edge to it as the cogs began to turn in both of their heads. “You can’t remember what we talked about in the Ruins, because I did this!” He held up a paw, and a golden star appeared. Frisk was horrified, though they never realised it was their second time having felt that way.

“Did you think I was just the same as that dumb flower, Frisky?” Asriel took a step towards Frisk through the long seaweed, and Frisk took a step back. “Ever since you brought me back,” he said, his voice now dark and deep and quiet, “my powers have only gotten stronger. I’m sure you can see that up now, up there.”

He pointed above Frisk, and it was in that moment that they realised they were being backed into a wall, trickles of dust now sprinkling over them. The cold stone was behind them a moment after the figured out what Asriel was doing. They pressed one hand to the wall, and in their other hand they willed their own star into life. It was a weak plan forming in their head, but they needed to reload before Asriel did, before they forgot what they had both just learned.

“And thanks to you,” he continued, “I have the power to SAVE and RESET again. Isn’t that wonderful?” He was right in Frisk’s face now, and he gave them a wide grin, black ooze leaking from his eyes and mouth. He blinked, and suddenly his eyes were like Flowey’s again. It filled Frisk with dread… and determination.

Suddenly a glint caught his eye. He looked down at Frisk’s hand, where they held their own star. He growled at them, the corners of his lips stretching too far up his cheeks and an impossibly wide snarl to replace his grin. “Friiisk-”

He never had a chance to threaten them; they squeezed the star and returned to the dark void, alone.

* * *

Before they knew it, Frisk was at the first patch of long seaweed that littered Waterfall, and a noise on the ledge above them brought their attention back to the present. They peered up through the seaweed and spotted Undyne’s back. This was nothing new to them, but for once, Papyrus had not been able to talk to her about them. She could be more wary than usual…

Frisk had anticipated the shuffling of the seaweed near them, but it still made them jump. Just like before, Undyne was at attention, standing over the ledge, spear already in hand. Now that Frisk knew it was Asriel standing nearby, they were certain that he knew where they were. How was he always able to find them?

They stood still, like Undyne, waiting for Asriel to make a noise again…

Another rustling of seaweed. Undyne raised her spear and prepared to launch it-

“CAPTAIN UNDYNE! ANSWER YOUR CELL PHONE!” Frisk was prepared for Alphys’ sudden broadcast and didn’t jump at all this time. They tried to peer through the seaweed, desperate to catch a glimpse of Asriel before he made another move, while listening to Undyne shuffling under her armour.

“Aw, crap.” Undyne sounded almost distant now, as Frisk strained to see through the seaweed. It would be hard to spot Asriel’s green sweater through it all, but maybe his white fur… there! They saw him looking up at Undyne with a look of wonder… or was that fear of being spotted?

“WHAT!?” Undyne’s voice echoed around the cavern walls. “HOW CAN THAT BE!?... DO I HAVE TO!? CAN’T I JUST-” Frisk never teared their eyes away from the thin sliver of Asriel that they could see, trying to figure out what he was thinking. He looked very serious…

“NGAHHH! FINE!” Undyne slammed her cell phone shut and jammed it into her pocket, just like last time. Frisk knew what they had to do this time.

“HUMAN! I KNOW YOU’RE HERE SOMEWHERE.” Asriel turned his attention to Frisk, knowing exactly where they were. His eyes met Frisk’s gaze, and he seemed to be taken aback. Frisk raised a finger to their lips, willing him to not make a noise. He closed his mouth and nodded gently. They could hear Undyne muttering, but barely paid any attention to her until-

“SO GET OUT HERE, PUNK!” Frisk and Asriel stood perfectly still, never breaking eye contact with one another. They listened to Undyne’s armour clanking as she looked one way, then the other. She was getting impatient, but the two children stood still.

“GrrrrRRRRH, FINE! YOU HAD YOUR CHANCE,” she screamed. They waited for the sounds of her heavy armour on the hard floor to signal her exit, but no sound came. Frisk was the first to break the stare with Asriel and look up to where Undyne had been standing. In her place, they saw a single light winking out where her eye had been, and then there was only the dark ceiling above.

Asriel stood up to his full height, which was still shorter than the seaweed. “Geez, what was _her_ problem?” He turned around and walked out of the seaweed, and Frisk trailed after him. Now that the immediate threat was gone, Frisk was able to ponder whether Asriel knew what had happened before they reloaded with the star. So far, he seemed oblivious to it.

“Y’know,” Asriel mused, “if she had wanted a fight, I could have ripped her to shreds.” He stopped and turned around to grin at Frisk. “Wouldn’t that have been a si-”

Frisk slapped him across the cheek.

Asriel fell silent, shocked at the sheer nerve of the human. They stood there for a time; Frisk remained still while Asriel slowly lifted his paw up to his cheek, then looked at it as if he expected to see blood. As the silence dragged on, Frisk’s determination began to wear down.

They watched a scowl grown on Asriel’s face. Suddenly, a loud rumbling filled the cavern, and thorny vines erupted behind Frisk. Two wrapped around their ankles, and two more grabbed them by the wrists, yanking them down onto the ground. They felt the wind knocked out of their lungs as their back collided with the hard floor, and it was difficult to shriek or even gasp as Asriel was suddenly on top of them, his face grotesque and his eyes crazed.

“WHAT WAS THAT FOR!?” A thick vine rose into the air swiftly behind him, then torpedoed into the ground near Frisk’s head. They tried to hold their nerve while dirt and pebbles rained on their face. “FRIENDS DON’T HURT EACH OTHER! DIDN’T ANYBODY TEACH YOU THAT!?” Another vine pierced the ground on the other side of their head, but they remained still, staring deep into Asriel’s technicolour eyes.

It was like something had flipped in Frisk’s mind. Where they had only feared Asriel before, now they were angry at him. Despite his magnificent new magic abilities, he was acting like a spoiled child with nobody to pull him in line, and if he kept getting away with it, more people would be hurt. Frisk guessed that Asriel had made a promise to not hurt anybody with them at some point, but then he had reloaded using his own star, and Frisk lost that memory.

Enough was enough. Somebody needed to face up to him, and even though they were still terrified of him, they needed to make a stand. His threats wouldn’t scare them anymore. His green and red eyes, his split grin too big for the rest of his face, even the oozing black mess dripping from his maw couldn’t threaten them anymore. They would just reload again and do it differently. Just as they always had.

Their body lurched up into the air as the vines pulled them up violently. Asriel was pushed up by vines under his feet until he was at eye-level with the captive Frisk. “DON’T YOU WANNA PLAY WITH ME ANYMORE, FRISK!? IS THAT IT!?” They kept matching his menacing stare with their own determination. They stared for what felt like minutes…

And then Asriel looked away. “You really don’t want to play with me anymore, do you?” He lowered himself back to the ground and turned away from Frisk. The vines around their limbs began to pull them back to the ground, and suddenly they were standing on their feet again. No thorns had broken their skin, but the feeling of the vines wrapped around them remained.

Asriel looked pitiful; his shoulders were hunched, his head drooped dismally. He looked just as he always did when Frisk had done everything right and freed his SOUL. He looked normal. But they knew better than to trust that now; they kept their distance from him.

“Frisk…” He moved his head slightly, as if to talk over his shoulder, but no words came. They could feel their anger growing weaker now, replaced with the urge to hug him. He wasn’t the same Asriel as before, but when he looked like this, it was hard to see the difference.

Without another word, a wall of vines slithered up through the dirt and encapsulated him. The last thing Frisk saw of him was his eyes as he turned to look at them; tears had started to well up in the corners and streak through his fur. It was a miserable sight, made worse by his glum expression.

The vines pulled back down into the ground, and then Frisk was alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY NEW YEAR~! It's time for 2019, a year of growth and flourishing! That includes my writing, which I hope to improve over the coming year. The plan to update at the beginning of each month is going smoothly, so I would like to keep up with that as best I can!  
> Enjoy the new chapter, and have a fantastic new year~


	5. Holding Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now they've done it. Asriel is hurt because Frisk doesn't want to be their friend anymore, and Frisk doesn't know what that is going to mean for them. There is only one other person in the Underground that might understand how dangerous Asriel could be... but getting to her also means having to face someone who doesn't trust them at all...

 

_“Asriel!?” Toriel was stunned. “How did you hear that name!?”  Frisk explained to Toriel as she sank into her armchair. The afternoon sun flooded through the window, bathing them both in an ominous golden light. The humans and monsters bustling along the street outside seemed to be drowned out as Toriel listened intently to Frisk’s story._

_They told Toriel about Flowey, and the experiment notes that they found in the True Lab. They told her about the final showdown with Flowey, and then Asriel, the God of Hyperdeath. They told her about seeing him as he once was, as a child like them. And as they watched Toriel weeping gently in her armchair, they began to sob as well._

_It was hard to recount the events of the Underground, not because they had forgotten, but because they wanted to forget a lot of it. Dying again and again takes its toll on a SOUL, and Frisk wished that they could forget the feeling of magical spears piercing them, beams of light eviscerating them, and even Toriel’s flames singeing their skin._

_Most importantly, they wished they could forget all the horrible things that Flowey had done. He had manipulated Frisk, and Papyrus, and in a way all the monsters of the Underground. He had toyed with them, hurt them, even killed them._

_But the worst part of it all was meeting Asriel as he had been at the end. That kind, sweet, loving young monster that cried into Frisk’s shoulder when they forgave him. That boy, deprived of a life and a SOUL, finally understood the consequences of his actions, and he was sorry._

_It wasn’t fair that he couldn’t come back as well._

_As difficult as it was to dredge up the memories, Frisk needed to tell Toriel. She sat in her armchair, silent and stunned. Frisk stood in front of her, stunned and silent. It could have been an eternity that they stayed still, or it could have been moments, neither of them could tell._

_Finally, Toriel opened her arms, still staring forward into space. Frisk ran into her embrace, and the two of them hugged each other tightly. It was impossible to hold back tears now, and they wept freely into each other’s shoulders. It was just like it had been with Asriel, Frisk thought._

_“Oh, my child,” Toriel whimpered. It sounded like it took her a lot of effort to even manage those words. Every time that she went to say something else, a noise would escape her maw and then she would fall silent again. Frisk looked up and wiped a tear from Toriel’s eyes, surprising her and making her chuckle weakly._

_“I am so sorry for everything that you went through, Frisk. I wish I had kept you with me in the Ruins, but… that was not your place, I can see that now. And just as your role was not to be with me…” She paused and choked back another sob. “Asriel’s place was not meant to be here either.” She broke down again, crying heavily into her paws. Frisk held her around her waist while tears ran into her cardigan._

_“If I could give anything to see my son again…” Toriel’s voice was muffled as she spoke into Frisk’s shoulder. Suddenly she pulled away, sniffled loudly and tried to speak with a clearer voice. “No, that will not do. I miss Asriel dearly, but I should not dwell on being able to see him once more. It would feel like losing him all over again.”_

_She looked down at Frisk, her child, and gave a weak smiled. Her eyes were red from crying and the fur around her eyes was darker than the rest. “Thank you for telling me, Frisk. I promise to keep you safe from now on.” Frisk nodded and hugged her once more. Toriel returned the sentiment, still sniffling every now and then._

_But keeping Frisk safe would be difficult, especially now that Frisk had an idea in their head. Maybe there was a way to bring Asriel back after all. They didn’t know how they would do it, or how long it would take, but surely there was a way to reunite Asriel and his family._

_There was one problem that they needed to face to begin with: they needed to RESET the world they had already saved…_

* * *

 

Frisk sat up suddenly. The dream was still in their mind as they observed their surroundings. The sounds of the crowds outside faded into the crashing waterfall behind them. The soft carpet beneath their feet wasn’t carpet at all, but a bed of golden flowers. Oddly shaped furniture was in fact piles of rubbish.

They were in the junk heap at the bottom of Waterfall. Undyne had never come to threaten them, so they were forced to jump from the wooden bridge my themself. They had always survived the fall before when Undyne destroyed the bridge and sent them plummeting to the ground, so surely, they would make it this time as well when they jumped?

Thankfully, it had paid off, and they were surprisingly but expectedly unharmed. There was no point in lingering in the junk heap, so they made their way through the rest of Waterfall. They recounted the monsters they would find along the way, what they would do to pacify them all, and what their next course of action would be after that.

They also realised that they would have to fight Undyne again, but this time would be different. They had brushed aside Undyne’s offer for help, but when they had accepted it, Undyne still refused to cooperate. There would be no way to convince her that Frisk was not in league with Asriel-

As soon as they remembered him, Frisk remembered the last thing they did to him as well. They acted out of anger and slapped him. He had left them alone, dismal and dejected. How that would affect the rest of the journey through the Underground was something that Frisk could not predict…

Maybe Alphys could help? They would have to meet her to get through Hotland, the adjacent area to Waterfall, and Frisk had learned in previous RESETs that Alphys was responsible for creating Flowey in the first place. More importantly though, Alphys was always watching the Underground, and knew already that Asriel was hiding near Frisk when Undyne had threatened them.  That could come in handy.

As they were ready to leave this part of Waterfall behind, they passed by a training dummy resting against the wall. They already knew that the dummy would jump out at them before they left, challenging them to a fight. It was always eager to battle them, to prove something to them, and nothing could satiate it. They smiled at the dummy as they walked passed, then braced themself for the fight.

But the voice that echoed throughout the junk heap was not the voice they were expecting.

“Hey punk.” It was Undyne standing in the doorway, no longer in her armour. She looked impatient, as if she had been waiting for some time for Frisk to arrive. Even though they knew to expect the unexpected, Frisk was not prepared for this. They braced themself for a barrage of spears to attack them at any moment…

“Alphys wants to see you,” Undyne said, more reservedly than usual. “I’m here to escort you, so get over here already.” Frisk was stunned, unable to take a step. They could hear a growl deep from Undyne’s throat, but before she could yell at them again, she turned away and swallowed her anger.

Undyne looked back at Frisk and snarled through gritted teeth. “Get over here already, _please._ ” Undyne was never so polite, always preferring to be direct with her words. That’s when Frisk knew that this was serious and summed up the effort to put one foot in front of the other. As they approached Undyne, she held out her hand for a moment.

“I was asked to bring you to Alphys’ lab. If you try to run away, I won’t have a problem with picking you up and carrying you to her, should anything happen to your legs. Understand?” That was more like the Undyne that Frisk knew, but the way that she said it with a cold, quiet voice was more threatening than she had been in a very long time.

Frisk knew better than to fight or run away. In an odd twist of fate, Undyne was showing Frisk mercy for once. They walked through Waterfall effortlessly, ignoring the puzzles along the way that they had both memorised over time. Frisk could hear Undyne make a huffing noise every time they took the correct turn, or immediately knew how to continue moving forward, but she never said another word.

No monster bothered them as they walked. They passed Gerson’s shop, both peering through the doorway to grab a glimpse of the wizened tortoise. They passed Shyren, practicing her melodies until she saw them both and quietly retreated around a corner. Aaron and Temmie were arguing to themselves nearby the Tem Village, but both hushed at the sight of Undyne escorting a human. Frisk wondered if they were more intimidated by Undyne in her armour, or out of it and with a human in front of her.

They continued walking until Frisk began to feel the patter of rain on their head. They knew it wasn’t really raining, it was just water falling from the roof of the cavern. They looked around and found the collection of umbrellas nearby, but as they made a move to collect one, Undyne intervened.

“What do you think you’re doing, human?” Her voice was still cold and quiet; she was too cautious to be in her regular active state. Every move that Frisk made could have been a pre-emptive attack, and if Undyne wasn’t on her guard, she could be dusted before she knew it.

Frisk locked eyes with her as they moved slowly towards the umbrellas, grabbed one out and opened it. They took a few steps back towards the path, watching Undyne the whole time, and then turned around to continue on their way. Despite the rain hitting the umbrella, Frisk could have sworn they heard Undyne mutter “weakling” under her breath.

Truly, the umbrella wasn’t for Frisk at all. They had walked this path numerous times, often alongside a clumsy friend, and the rain had eventually stopped bothering them. They walked past the puddles in the ground, rather than splash in them, and they didn’t even look at New Home and the Royal Castle as it appeared on the horizon.

The only time that they stopped was at the sad, decrepit statue in the rain. His statue, or so Frisk believed. As they looked at the lonely figure, hunched over as if it had been beaten down by the rain, they felt a welling sadness in the pit of their stomach, and they heard a tune that Asriel often hummed when they saved the Underground and found him afterwards.

Frisk took the umbrella and slotted it into a hole near the top of the statue. Now it looked like it was holding it up, just as Frisk had done on the way here. They stood back and listened to the tune playing in their head, while Undyne watched the display incredulously. She was told to bring the human back and beware its actions, but this… this almost seemed kind. Why would the human be kind?

It made her uncomfortable. “Come on, human. We’ve still got a while before we’re there.” She headed off, almost forgetting that she was meant to be escorting Frisk. They looked away from the sad statue and took their position in front of Undyne, resuming their march to Hotland. Undyne helped them climb up the ledge that would normally have stopped Frisk if they were alone, then cleared the height of the ledge in a single leap.

There was complete silence between them after that. Undyne didn’t turn away from the human, and Frisk didn’t dare look around. Before they knew it, they were already passing the giant neon sign announcing their arrival in Hotland. Alphys’ lab was just now visible on the horizon, even through the heat waves that distorted Frisk’s visibility. Sans’ watch-post was also nearby, though today it was unmanned…

And then they arrived. The sterile white building loomed over Frisk and Undyne as they prepared themselves for the next step. They couldn’t tell why Undyne was so worried now, but Frisk feared how much Alphys already knew. How could they have forgotten about Alphys’ cameras? They were everywhere, so she was guaranteed to have seen Asriel already.

There was no point in prolonging the inevitable, or causing Undyne anymore frustration; Frisk steeled themself and walked through the doors to the Lab. Most of the time when Frisk entered, Alphys was nowhere to be seen, and the room was pitch black. They had to fumble their way through in their early adventures in the Underground, though they were well acquainted with the room now.

Though this time, there was something that they had never seen before: Alphys was sitting in front of a wall of computer screens, bathed in technicolour light. She didn’t even look around as Frisk or Undyne approached her. Frisk was worried about what could have her undivided attention…

Their fears were realised when they were able to see the screens. Every single one had a different clip of Asriel, moving around the Underground. One screen showed him hiding behind trees near Snowdin. Another screen had his approach to the seaweed back at Waterfall. Another screen showed him bursting from the ground here in Hotland, though the heat appeared to bother him.

One clip caught Frisk’s attention. It was Asriel in the Ruins, just outside of Toriel’s home. He was playing in the dirt, scratching something into it with a fallen branch from the dead tree outside. He seemed so innocent, as if he really was an average child… until his face changed to a menacing grin, and he poked violently at what he had drawn instead…

“OH MY GOSH!” Alphys’ booming voice filled Frisk’s ears, followed by the sound of her falling out of her chair. Frisk took a moment to clear their ears while Alphys groaned and stumbled back to her feet. Undyne looked as if she wanted to rush over and help her up but froze on the spot. Could their mutually oblivious pining really be affecting her now of all times?

Alphys’ claws tapped on the ground while she stood up and brushed off her lab coat. After so many runs through the Underground, Frisk had come to see the details of the monster that they missed when they first time: the washed-out stains on her coat, the corners of her eyes that twitched when she looked at the human, the way her blunt claws slid under the scales on the back of her hand- and the fact that she had scales in the first place.

But in the end, Alphys was the same scared lizard that Frisk had met in their first tour of the UNDERGROUND. “H-human! You’re here!” Her stammer was familiar, even endearing at this point. Frisk smiled and nodded, trying to put the scientist’s mind at ease. Unfortunately, Alphys’ brows furrowed instead as she focused her attention on Frisk.

“I’ll b-be b-blunt with you, human. Did you have a-anything to do with this?” She pointed up at the screens with Asriel on them but kept her gaze on Frisk. They looked up at the screens, each of them now paused on a different angle of Asriel in a different location in the UNDERGROUND. How had he gotten everywhere in such a short time?

They looked back to Alphys and nodded silently. Alphys was suddenly disheartened; her shoulders slumped, and she fiddled with her fingers and claws. Undyne, on the other hand, was ready to snap.

“What do you mean, you had something to do with this, huh? What did you do!?” She stormed over to Frisk, almost pushing Alphys out of the way in the process. She ignored Alphys’ stuttered pleas to calm down, grabbed Frisk by their shirt and hoisted them into the air with almost no effort at all.

“WHAT DID YOU DO!?”

“UNDYNE! STOP IT, RIGHT NOW!”

Frisk and Undyne paused and turned to Alphys, who looked frantic as she held the edge of her desk to keep herself steady. “Put them down,” she ordered, and Undyne hesitantly obeyed. Alphys stood up properly, smoothed her lab coat out for a second time, and stood up as straight as her hunched posture would allow her.

“U-Undyne…” Alphys’ voice was shaky, as if she was more uncertain than usual with what to say next. “How m-many times has the human said a-anything to you?” Undyne had to think for a moment. Realisation dawned on her, and it showed on her face with a puzzled expression.

“They didn’t,” Undyne mumbled. She took a step back from the human while she re-evaluated her suspicions.

Alphys looked at Frisk now. “You’re a mute, aren’t you?” Frisk nodded. Many of the monsters in the UNDERGROUND took Frisk’s silence for fear, or modesty, or because that’s what they thought humans were like. In the end, Frisk just chose not to speak, unless it was necessary.

They focused back on Alphys as she finished preparing for her next question. “That is P-Prince Asriel,” she explained. “He died many years ago, before I was e-even a scientist. He is the son of K-King Asgore and his wife, Queen T-Toriel. So how is it that he is alive now?”

The question was asked softly, but it hit Frisk like a sledgehammer. They felt ashamed, even though they brought Asriel back with a good conscience. They never meant to cause harm… but that did not make the damage done by the little living Prince vanish. These were the consequences that they had to deal with for trying to do a good thing.

But in this moment, there was no way that they could explain Asriel’s appearance to Frisk, not without telling her about how they could RESET as well, and they couldn’t even begin to explain why they could do that.

The only thing that they could really explain to Alphys was about Flowey- and only because Alphys was responsible for Flowey in the first place. They looked around the room for a way to explain. If there was something they could put together to show a flower, that would work…

They spotted an empty noodle cup on the desk behind Alphys. They wanted to race towards it, but Alphys flinched when Frisk went to dart forward, and Undyne was already between them with a spear in hand, glaring at the human. Frisk looked up at her, pointed at the noodle cup insistently, and waited for one of them to respond.

“Y-you need that?” Alphys scurried over to the noodle cup, perplexed, and returned with it in hand. Frisk gingerly reached over Undyne’s spear, now avoiding her gaze, and took the cup from Alphys. They looked around now for something that could imitate a flower’s stem. There was a measuring stick on the desk as well, behind the keyboard. They pointed towards it.

“What is it now?” Undyne’s growl made Frisk and Alphys flinch, afraid that she may escalate the situation. Frisk pointed again, and Alphys looked toward the other side of her desk. “The k-keyboard? No… th-the measuring stick?” Frisk nodded vigorously, so Alphys made her way to the other side of her desk, grabbed it and brought it back to Frisk.

With the cup and measuring stick, Frisk hatched an idea. They put the measuring stick in the cup and sat it on the desk. They saw Alphys put a hand on Undyne’s arm. Undyne jumped at the sudden contact, then put her spear away and allowed Alphys to pass by her. She kept close to the scientist, still not as trusting of the human as Alphys.

Frisk held the measuring stick up between their wrists and held their head in their hands. They cracked open a wide grin and bobbed their head left and right, performing their best Flowey impression. Alphys watched Frisk for a while, her eyes scrunching up as she did her best to figure out what the human was trying to say.

Alphys gasped as it hit her. She looked between Undyne and Frisk, eventually settling on Undyne. “We need to see Asgore. Now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again everyone! Please forgive me for the lateness of this chapter, I have been flat-out recently with no time to focus on anything! As it stands, I don't know when the next chapter will be created, but I appreciate every single one of you that has read up to this point and enjoyed the story so far. I would love to finish it one day, preferably soon, so thank you to everyone willing to stick it out until then~


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